Igoche Mark
By Ralph Nkra
As Mark D Ball Basketball Championship dunks off on Saturday at the Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall, Package B, MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer and initiator of Mark D Ball championship, Igoche Mark says that what gives him joy is when he sees young talents displaying their God’s giving skills at a competition of this magnitude.
Mark, who watched in admiration Sunshine Angels of Akure out-dunking Hotcoal Slizzers of Abuja 28-20 at the opener of the ongoing 2022 edition of Mark D Ball women’s Basketball championship says all he wanted to achieve in the tournament was to make sure young talents are giving the opportunity to exhibit their talents which he said has been achieved even though the tournament was just a day old.
“I am happy seeing these young talents having the chance to play; to express themselves, to learn and to go and develop their game of basketball. It’s a thing of joy, this is all I wants, to give them the opportunity to be able to achieve their dreams in life.
On what gives him the impetus to organize the championship, Mark said, it is obvious that for a while now, basketball has not been bouncing well in Nigeria that was why they came up with the idea to put up this championship. He noted that with the commencement of the game on Saturday at the Multi-Purpose Indoor Hall at the Package B, MKO Abiola Stadium, one can conveniently say that basketball has started bouncing again in Nigeria and they hope to keep it bouncing forever.
He also assured that plans are being perfected to have the tournament played constantly across the country, in a format replicating the NBA regular-season games.
He added that the New Face of Basketball is a project focused on reviving the domestic component of the slam and dunk game.
Mark recounted how the league and grassroots aspects of Basketball in Nigeria were deflated for a very long time and unable to bounce; and asked all stakeholders to rally around him as one United family to sustain the momentum and ensure that the inflated ball will keep on bouncing, uninterruptedly, by ensuring that games are played across the country, regularly.
Recalled that while unveiling the championship last year in Abuja, Mark declared his intention to run as President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF); where he spoke extensively on the deflated ball which has not been bouncing for a long time and replaced it with an inflated ball, branded “Mark D Ball, the New Face of Basketball in Nigeria”.
“My target is to see the ball bouncing non-stop, and the young ones play as many games as possible just like in the NBA where 82 games are played in a regular season.
“Even if we cannot play 82 games, let’s play something close. This is what the New Face of Basketball is all about” Mark said.
